Wednesday, 29 August 2018

Day-in-the-life of a writer with a 2 month old

I've been meaning to write this for a while, which means my baby
girl is now closer to three months old. Life changes quickly when you're growing fast! Luckily I scribbled some notes down on post-its. Here's a glimpse of our day when she was two months old...

4.05am - First feed of the day! Baby
and I wake up in synch. She doesn't cry when she's hungry, but sucks her
fingers desperately. I breastfeed her for fifteen minutes and then change her nappy.
She pees as I remove nappy - FAIL - I knew I should have waited another moment!
Pee floods across the changing mat towards her neck. I mop it up before it
reaches her hair, give her a backpacker shower with wipes and then put her back
to bed.

7.45am - Second feed of the day! She stretches luxuriously for ages and
smiles when I say good morning. She's a morning person. I feel overwhelmed with
love.

8am - 9am - I remember pee episode and bathe her in a bucket. She beams
as she sinks into the warm water, and then kicks her legs frantically. There's
nowhere to go, so I scoop her out. We have a sing-along. Well, I sing and
wiggle her arms and legs, and she stares up at me, smiling off-and-on until she
gets tired. Her favourite song: Yellow Submarine by The Beatles.

9am - 10am - Nap! She's exhausted after all the fun. I take advantage to
finish a blog I started the day before.

10am - 11.45am - Third feed (or fourth, fifth... I'm breastfeeding on
demand, so I've no idea!) I sit her in her bouncer and introduce her to some
toys. She follows them with her eyes, but prefers to suck her fingers rather
than touch them. Her favourite toy is the fan. It's 30 degrees and we can't go
outside until late afternoon.

11.45am - 12.20pm Nap! I hand wash my milk-stained bra and do chores
around the house. I consider getting a cleaner so any free time I have is
dedicated to writing.

12.20pm - 1.05pm I hold her in my arms and dance around the kitchen to
The Sound of Music. I never used to like musicals but I can't stop playing
them! When she gets heavy, I lay her down again. I read online that babies like
shiny objects, so I dangle a spoon above her head (no interest)... then a sieve
(moderate interest)... then some aluminium foil. Her eyes light up at the foil.
She falls asleep on my chest after feeding.

1.05pm - 2pm - Nap. I make enough food for two meals. She wakes up as
I'm serving up.

2pm - 3pm I leave her in the bouncer sucking her fingers and talk to her
while I eat. Afterwards I show her the some toys again. She likes the dangling
rabbit.

3.30pm - 4.45pm More singing, more waving toys at her, more dancing
around the kitchen, more feeding, lots more feeding, I don't know how much
feeding, about every hour and a half... I don't mind... sometimes I read a
novel on my kindle when her eyes are closed... but when her eyes are open I
look down at her and savour the moment, I know I'll miss this special time.

4.45pm - 5.00pm Nap! I edit another paragraph of the Pregnancy Diaries.

5.00pm - 6.45pm Feed, play... I start glancing wishfully at the clock...
I'm looking forward to talking to an adult!

7pm - 8.45pm I put her in the buggy and we head out for a stroll and a
quick drink with a neighbour and her baby... then I push her back up the
steepest hill ever, sweating profusely and feeling the burn in my legs! It
feels good after all that sitting on the sofa feeding!

8.45pm - 9.00pm She whimpers as I
wolf down leftovers from lunch while calling 'coming!' between each mouthful.

9.00 - 11.00feed, feed, feed, feed, feed until she falls asleep. She
won't wake up again until four in the morning. While I was pregnant I
promised myself that when I was with her, I wouldn't wish myself doing anything or wanting to be anywhere else. I fall asleep, my promise kept.